Posted By John Moore On January 13, 2011 @ 9:21 pm In Uncategorized | 1 Comment

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Forget water: Let there be light! Photo by Michael Ensminger

This is a first: In 10 years of covering the local theater beat, I can’t recall a performance ever having been outright canceled by technical difficulties. Neither can Aurora Fox executive producer Charlie Packard.

But tonight’s first preview performance of “The Diviners” by the handicapped company PHAMALy was scotched at the Fox, done in by a corrupt computer disc that rendered a $7,000 light board inoperable.

The disc contained all of the light cues for the performance, which officially opens on Saturday night. Director Christy Montour-Larson said there were 92 people in attendance. All but seven agreed to come back before the run closes at the Aurora Fox on Jan. 30. The production will then move to the Arvada Center from Feb. 24-27.

Lighting designer Dave Mazzeno said the technical glitch was a minor snafu that would be solved by the end of tonight. Packard said Friday’s preview performance, and Saturday’s official opening night, would go on as scheduled.

Packard said he has three light boards at the Fox, to defend against this very kind of thing happening. But the problem wasn’t with any of the light boards themselves. It was with a disc that simply read, “No file saved.”

Despite the obvious inconvenience to patrons, and the lost preparation time for the cast, Montour-Lasron said everyone was taking it in stride. Anyone who knows anything about PHAMALy knows its ensemble members often face greater challenges just getting out the front door of their homes than many people face in a year. A little thing like a lost performance isn’t going to deter them.

“We’ve all seen much worse,” Montour-Larson said with a laugh.

The Denver Post just named “The Diviners” as one of the 10 most intriguing upcoming titles of the winter season. Click here[2] to read more about that.